Cosgrave may face jail over Dunlop donations

FORMER Senator Liam Cosgrave could face up to three years in prison for failing to disclose donations received by disgraced lobbyist Frank Dunlop.

Under ethics legislation, Mr Cosgrave could now become the first Oireachtas member to be prosecuted for irregularities concerning political donations.

The penalty for conviction of the offence includes a fine of up to 25,000 and/or three years in prison.

Mr Cosgrave first admitted he had received the donation in question without declaring it in his returns at the Flood Tribunal last April.

The Tribunal revelations put an end to the Cosgrave family political dynasty which had endured for three generations.

Mr Cosgrave is the son of former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave and the grandson of WT Cosgrave, the first president of the executive council of the Irish free State.

A spokesman for the Standards in Public Offices Commission yesterday confirmed an investigation into a donation of £2,500 received by Mr Cosgrave from Frank Dunlop in 1997 had been completed.

Following the conclusion of its investigation, the Commission has now referred the non-disclosure of the donation to the DPP which is now considering the issue. A decision on whether to prosecute is expected shortly.

All Oireachtas members are required by law to make a complete return of all donations to the Standards in Public Offices Commission.

It is understood Mr Cosgrave had originally argued that when making his 1997 return he checked all his bank lodgements and gave what he then believed to be the correct figure.

However, at last April’s Flood Tribunal hearings it emerged that the cheque for £2,500 from Frank Dunlop had not in fact been declared by Mr Cosgrave.

At last April’s Tribunal revelations Mr Cosgrave admitted that he had deliberately defrauded the Revenue Commissioners in relation to yet another Dunlop donation and conceded he had broken the accounting procedures laid down for solicitors.

That admission has prompted the Law Society to also consider whether it will take any action against the disgraced former politician.

In an internal Fine Gael inquiry in 2000 Mr Cosgrave told the party he had received £3,000 from Mr Dunlop however it subsequently transpired that he had actually received £8,000 over several years.